Hardware

Did Apple Hoard M1 Max processors for use in the new Mac Studio?

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Mac Studio
Mac Studio

Apple announced the new Mac Studio less than two weeks ago, at their Peek Porfance event on March 8th, 2022. The new Mac is powered by either an M1 Max or the new M1 Ultra processor — which is essentially two M1 Max processors stuck together. Preorders began the same day and people have already started receiving their new Macs.

Now, here’s the thing. I ordered a new 16″ MacBook Pro with an M1 Max back on February 12th to replace my aging 2016 15″ MacBook Pro. I’m still waiting. The estimated delivery date is April 13-20, two months+ after I ordered it. My wife ordered her new MacBook Pro on the same day (replacing a 2012 model) and she received hers a couple of weeks ago. The big difference — hers is an M1 Pro (not Max).

So, this has left me wondering, did Apple hoard M1 Max processors so that they would have them available for the forthcoming announcement of the new Studio?

Add-On Numeric Keypad for Wireless Apple Keyboad

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lmp-numberpad.jpg

There’s no word on pricing or availability yet, but apparently LMP is coming out with a numeric keypad that attaches to the side of a standard Apple wireless keyboard.

I want this! I recently switched from Apple’s wired keyboard to their wireless version. I had to debate on it for quite a while before making the switch because I actually use the number pad, a lot. It totally bothers me that Apple doesn’t make a wireless keyboard that includes a number pad. In the end, I decided it was more important to me to have one less wire, than it was to keep the number pad. But, as soon as this is released, I can have both.

Via Macworld

17″ Macbook Pro – Glossy vs. Matte

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Macbook Pro - Glossy vs Matte

When Apple first announced that they were moving all of their displays to glossy, I was, in a word, horrified. I’ve always preferred the matte displays and I didn’t like this move at all.

When Apple announced the new 17″ Macbook Pro at Macworld 2009, they said we would actually still have the choice on this model to go with glossy (default) or matte finish (now called “anti-glare”). I jumped for joy because I buy the 17″ model anyway, so this meant I could keep using the matte display.

While I was at Macworld I had a chance to view both screens side-by-side, and even though I’ve always preferred matte, I’m not so sure I like it on the new model. The picture above doesn’t really do either justice, but I can tell you that in person, the glossy looked so much better. It actually wasn’t so much that the glossy looked good, but rather the matte looked bad. At first I thought the brightness on the matte model was turned way down, but it wasn’t. The new matte display is just dim, and rather flat. Even though Apple offers the 17″ model in matte, I may be forced to go with glossy.

One caveat to this is, the Apple guy on the show floor said these were “pre-production” models. They could actually change when they start to ship at the end of January. I’ll hold my final review until I see them in the Apple store.

On a related note, Macworld has an article about a company that will physically swap a matte display for the glossy one in 15″ models.

Prevent cables from falling behind your desk with “CableDrop”

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CableDrop

One of the coolest things I saw at Macworld this year, was actually one of the cheapest, and smallest. They’re simple little doohickeys (technical term) from a company called, Blue Lounge. They call them CableDrops, and as the name implies they keep your cables from falling off the back of your desk when you disconnect your device.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t buy any CableDrops right now, as they won’t be available for another 6 weeks. I did get a couple free samples, and they’re pretty cool. They’ll sell 6 for $10 when they come out. Check the site around the end of February.

Why we can’t replace the battery in the new 17″ Macbook Pro, and can we still get to the hard drive?

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17 inch Macbook Pro

One of the great things about the new 15″ unibody Macbook Pro is the ease at which you can get to the battery, RAM, and hard drive. You simply flip a latch on the underside of the computer and a panel opens up giving you access to everything. In previous generations, the hard drive was not considered a user-replaceable part, and was a pain in the ass to access (for those who dared).

As I mentioned in the last post, the battery on the new 17″ model is not considered user-replacebale, so that left me wondering how easy it was to get to the RAM and hard drive, because the panel on the bottom doesn’t exist on the 17″ model.

I don’t yet have a definitive answer, but it looks like you can get to the RAM and hard drive relatively easily by simply taking out the screws on the bottom of the machine, and removing the whole bottom case.

Apple has posted a video about the new battery in the 17″ model, and why it isn’t user-replacable. It basically comes down to space. You can make the battery bigger if you don’t have to worry about the average user being able to take it out. In that video, they show the bottom of the machine with the cover off, and it appears as though the hard drive would be easily accessible. I hope that’s the case, because Apple just doesn’t offer large enough options on hard drives in their notebooks, at least not for me.

For those interested, it has also been confirmed by Gizmodo that the battery can be replaced at any Apple Store for $179. That’s a bit steep, but supposedly the new batteries last 5 years, so the average user may never have to get a new one.

UPDATE (1/08/2009): I’ve confirmed with Apple that the hard drive (and RAM) are considered user-replacable. You simply remove the screws on the bottom, like I thought.

Apple’s 2009 Macworld Announcements

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17 inch Macbook Pro

If you haven’t already read this at a hundred other Mac sites, here’s what Apple announced today at Macworld:

17″ Aluminum Unibody Macbook Pro
Starting at $2799, the new 17″ Macbook pro will ship in late January. The good news is this thing can take up to 8GB of RAM. The bad news is, rumors were true… the battery is no longer a user-replacable part. That just sucks. Although, Apple is saying that this new and improved battery will last 8 hours on a single charge and can be recharged 1000 times (5 times the industry standard). Apple is also saying this new model is the slimmest and lightest 17″ notebook available.

It should also be noted that while the 17″ version uses the same Glossy display now used in its 15″ cousin, Apple is offering a $50 upgrade to an “antiglare display”. I thought they use to call this “matte”, so I’m not sure if this is the same option as previous models. Also, the new native resolution is 1920×1200, up from 1680×1050. In the previous 17″ model, it was a $100 upgrade to the higher resolution display. When I was shopping for my current 17″ Macbook Pro, I actually thought 1920 was a little too much for 17 inches.

You can read all the specs on Apple’s site.

iLife ’09
iPhoto now has face-recognition and geotagging built-in. It can also link with Facebook and Flickr. It actually looks pretty cool. Too bad I’m not really using iPhoto anymore. I’ve started moving everything into Adobe Lightroom.

iMovie has several new features bringing it back a little closer to iMovie ’06, instead of the radically different iMovie ’08.

There’s new versions of Garage Band, iWeb and iDVD as well. iLife ’09 will ship at the end of January. Read all about it on Apple’s site.

iWork ’09
I like iWork, but there’s nothing terrible exciting to talk about… seems like mostly basic improvements and refinements. iWork ’09 ships today.

iWork.com
Apple is starting iWork.com. Currently in beta, this will be a site for sharing and collaboration. It’s free while in beta, but Apple will charge for it in its final release.

DRM Free Music, Price Changes, and Purchase via 3G
Apple is moving away from $0.99 songs. Instead, there will now be a tiered structure of $0.69, $0.99, and $1.29 per song. Starting today they will offer 8 million songs as DRM free. The entire catalogue will be DRM free by the end of the quarter. You can also now buy music on you iPhone over the 3G or Edge networks, instead of wi-fi only.

My Thoughts
I didn’t think there was going to be any huge announcements today, but I am a little disappointed at what was announced. There were a few things that I would have bet money on:

  • New Mac Mini
  • New Apple TV
  • iPhone 2.3 software update (with ToDos!)
  • 32GB iPhone and 64GB iPod Touch

Oh well, I guess we’ll have things to look forward to in 2009. I’ll be heading over to the Expo after Lunch. I’ll write about any must-haves that I find.

Don’t change your Mighty Mouse batteries before you have to

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Apple Mighty Mouse Battery Warning

If you use an Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse, you’ve probably seen this battery warning at some point. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a little premature in when it tells you to change batteries. I sometimes get 2-3 weeks of additional use after I get the warning before the batteries actually die. And that’s using my mouse all day, every day.

Ignore the warning. Don’t change the batteries until they actually die.

Griffin Simplifi: iPhone and iPod dock with built-in Media Card Reader and USB Hub

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Griffin Simplifi

Right now I have an iPod/iPhone dock, a USB hub, and a Media Card Reader sitting on my desk. Apparently, those three things could all be replaced by the Griffin Simplifi.

This is an awesome looking little device. I totally see one of these in my future. I’ll probably wait to see if Griffin has any show specials at Macworld, in January. if you want one of these, you can get it for $69.99 straight from Griffin, or $65.99 from Amazon.

via TUAW